“Shameless” is nothing without its outrageous moments. Each week I focus on a singularly eye-popping moment in each episode of the show’s 9th season on Showtime.

Good morning, my day-drinking brethren. A thought crossed my mind watching the season’s second episode “Mo White”: With Fiona physically gone from the Gallagher homestead, her role as South Side matriarch and glue that holds everything together has diminished to the point where I can actually envision the show continuing without her. We already know Emmy Rossum is leaving the show at the end of the season. It’s possible that Showtime and executive producer John Wells will decide to end it there — but if they want to keep going, I actually think it could work.

So while Fiona is busy looking for real estate investments with Liam at her side pretending to be her bossy intern (finally they give this kid something interesting to do nine seasons in!) everyone else has moved on with their lives without her. Ian is bailed out of jail by his disciples. Frank becomes the live-action embodiment of the “Old Man Yells at Cloud” meme. And Kev and V have concocted a scheme to afford nursery school for their two girls (“You’re both named Amy now. There is no Gemma. Gemma doesn’t exist anymore. Only Amy.”)

Chuck Hodes/Showtime

Since when does Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) have compassion for any breathing creature, human or canine? Who knows! We'll take it.

Since when does Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) have compassion for any breathing creature, human or canine? Who knows! We'll take it. (Chuck Hodes/Showtime)

But the humdinger this episode was Carl’s new volunteer post at Soothing Horizons, where elderly and terminally ill dogs are euthanized via carbon monoxide piped in from a van out back. A service for the pet owner who can’t afford a trip to the vet to have it done the right way — and might resort to less humane methods to put a sick dog out of its misery. “We pick ‘em up, bring ‘em here and let them go peaceful.” In a gas chamber? “Yep!”

(Shout-out to whoever decided to add the sound of those whimpering dogs throughout the scene.)

I’m still in shock that Carl’s little nub of a soul actually felt something for those dogs — so much so that he rescued them to die a natural death in the Gallagher basement? (Head explodes.) That’s simultaneously hilarious, heartwarming and deeply unsettling; everything we know about Carl is that he is a psychopath in the making. We’re talking about a kid who apparently mourns not for his wife/stalker. But those dogs got to him. Right there with ya, buddy.